


good riddance

by tinyspoons



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, I will explain in a bit dw, also this is kinda auish bc arrival of the torso takers didn't really happen, bthb: stolen identity, dadvid, dadvid is implied, rated T for bad words, s4e12 The Forest, the forest - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 09:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20598332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinyspoons/pseuds/tinyspoons
Summary: David takes three days to put up the canoe. When he comes back, he's different.





	good riddance

**Author's Note:**

> so this dumb bitch wrote 3/4 of this story before realizing this is literally the plot of arrival of the torso takers . . . so that didn't happen in this universe bc I didn't want to rewrite this B)
> 
> all mistakes are mine, so feel free to tear me a new one at the sight of any typos in the comments :)

There is a canoe missing. 

Max knows the camp has exactly six canoes - he knows this because they started with fifteen, but after an assortment of thefts, explosions, and other damages to them that Max himself may have facilitated, they were only left with the aforementioned six. Right now, though, there are only five canoes on the rack, and that doesn’t make sense, because there were six of them four days ago, and Max hadn’t destroyed any of them in that time. There is always the possibility that someone else had . . . but that makes even less sense. Everyone knows that Max is the resident troublemaker. And, as much as Max hates to admit it, no one was in much of a troublemaking mood after David disappeared.

It had taken them a full day to realize it. No one, not even Gwen, had thought much of it when David didn’t instantly come back from his chore. Max had noticed something weird after a couple hours, but that was only because he was suspicious after not being bothered by the overly peppy counselor for so long. He had let himself be persuaded away, though, and it was only when Gwen had burst into the breakfast hall yelling for whoever had kidnapped David to let him go, that anyone had realized something was up. 

They had searched for hours, until the sun hung high in the sky and sweat dripped from every available pore. They had retreated inside. Gwen had called the police. Space Kid wondered aloud if David was dead. That remark was ultimately what had sent everyone into hysterics - there was something so fundamentally _wrong_ about the idea of Camp Campbell without David constantly grating on everyone’s nerves. 

Nerris and Harrison squabbled over whose magic would ultimately bring him back, while Nurf had punched Preston as a form of stress relief. Neil had anxiously started chewing on his nails, ranting to Nikki about all the dangers and all the ways David could have died, out there in the forest, all alone. Max . . . Max had found himself actually feeling worried, afraid that David was gone because he _cared_, something he promised he would never do because all adults did in the end was disappoint you, and that was what caused him to say, before he even realized he was saying it, “He’s not dead! And even if he was, so what? Good riddance!” 

He had said it loud enough that everyone paused to look at him, some incredulously, some angrily, and it was _Nikki_ of all people that looked _disappointed_. “Did you really hate David that much?” she said in a voice that was so small, so un-Nikki-like, so hurt, somehow, on David’s behalf.

Max didn’t know what he would have said to that. Would he have kept lying and said yes? Would he have said that he didn’t hate him, but didn’t like him either? Or would he have said that he cared for David, somehow, cared for the annoying, childish Camp Man and had maybe even started seeing him as the kind of soft, nagging, doting, annoying, _attention giving_ father he had never had, was so worried that he might actually be dead that it was like a weight physically choking him, laying on his chest and squeezing the life out of him until he had no choice left to say something mean and rude and awful to convince himself that he didn’t care about him and to pretend that the weight wasn’t there? In the end, he didn’t have to say anything, because the attention of the already quiet campers was drawn by the sudden _slam!_ of the receiver hitting the table (apparently the camp had fuck-all in terms of technology.)

Gwen was shaking, although he couldn’t place if it was out of anger or fear or sadness or a peculiar mix of all three. “Are the police gonna find David?” Ered chanced.

It took Gwen a minute to reply. “They can’t do anything until he’s been gone for 48 hours.”

“That’s bullshit!” Neil had screeched, even though he had probably already known this. “He could be dead by then!” 

“Yeah, they have to find David!” “What kind of stupid rule is that?” “What if they can’t find his body after 48-hours?!” 

“HEY!” Gwen yelled, glaring at all of them in turn, fixing an especially venomous one at Max, and he wondered if she had heard him earlier. “David . . . is _not dead._ And yeah, the rule is stupid, but we can’t do anything about, so you guys are going to eat and go to bed and then we’ll call them again, and they’ll find David.” 

No one mentioned that it wasn’t even close to being dark yet. No one spoke to Max on their way out the door, either. He refused to acknowledge that it had hurt, even though he had deserved it, and slunk off to mope in peace.

True to her word, Gwen called the police again the next day, and that time they actually showed up, taping the area up and ignoring their panicked words. Nikki and Neil only fell back into step with him when they found him yelling, “You better find him!” at the back of a police officer. The police officer had ignored him. Max was pathetically grateful for the sense of normalcy even as the rest of the camp seemed to fall apart without David’s enthusiasm and gentle guidance.

They had played the waiting game the next day. Max had raided the Quartermaster’s cabin with Nikki and Neil. It wasn’t the same without David there to reprimand him.

The third day, the police worked a miracle and found David. He returned to camp with a wide smile on his face and his arms open, wisely prepared for the horde of children that literally knocked him down. Max had hung back, of course, and had watched the slightly tearful reunion - even Gwen had hugged him, once she had pried Dolph off him. It was only when they were alone, Gwen encouraging them to head inside so they could scrape together some scraps for a Welcome Back, You’re Not Dead! feast, that Max had given him a quick hug, followed by a punch. “Don’t do that again.” 

David had laughed. “I won’t!” He ruffled Max’s hair and then headed back to the Mess Hall without another word, the same smile still on his face. That should have been the first warning sign - just _leaving_ him there - but Max, foolishly, stupidly, was too glad to have David back that he paid it no mind.

The day after that was spent in a similar state of bliss. The campers had managed to look somewhat excited for the camp activity, but that was probably only for David’s benefit. Max didn’t bother. David was back, and he was ready for things to go back to normal. Because of this . . . Max had started to notice things were off about David. 

He had brushed off Preston when he said Nurf had punched him, only saying, “Nurf was probably just stressed, he won’t do it again!” He hadn’t told Max to cheer up, or to participate more at all. And, most damning, he hadn’t pulled out his guitar or sang any manner of camp song since he had returned. 

That all lead up to where Max was now. David had gone to put up the canoe, but there was once missing. David, during his very iffy, mostly inedible Welcome Back feast, had said that he had put away the canoe, only to slip and fall into the river and end up far away from camp. So where was the canoe?

“Hey there Max!” comes a voice from behind Max. Max jumps, whipping around and coming face-to-face with David, who’s beaming down at him. “What’re you looking at?”

Max scowled. How could someone so loud and cheerful be so suddenly sneaky? David never surprised him before. But there was a lot that David hadn’t done before. “There’s a boat missing. Are you sure you put it back that day? Or did you lose it? I wouldn’t be surprised.” It still takes more effort to infuse an annoyed tone into his words. Every time he tries, he thinks back to _”Is David dead?”_ and _”Good riddance!”_ He doesn’t let that stop him, though. Things are going to go back to normal, even if David isn’t.

David laughs again. He’s been doing a lot of that, somehow even more that he already did. “I’m pretty sure I did! But you never know, what happens out here in the wild. What’re you doing out here, alone? I’ve got a fun camp activity planned for today, and you’re not going to miss it! Come along!” He heads back without another word, not even glancing back to see if Max is following. 

There’s definitely something wrong with David.

\---

Max keeps this knowledge to himself, partly because he doesn’t know if he’s just reading too much into it - maybe he’s just worried because he _cares_ and is worried when he shouldn’t be because of it. He’s the only one that seems to find anything wrong with him, anyway - and partly because he doesn’t want anyone to know he’s been keeping more of an eye on David than strictly necessary. So what if he’s a little different, right? He was lost in the woods for three days, he’s bound to be a little weird after that. Weirder than he already was, anyway

A week into this new David, though, and something happens that Max can’t ignore. 

It’s a relatively normal thing that he does, really. If it were anyone but David, Max would have looked past it without a second glance. Max himself does it. But it is David, and David never, ever litters. New David, though, does. 

It was nice and early in the morning, too early to be dealing with anything, and yet there he was, dealing with Gwen yelling at Nurf and Space Kid’s annoying voice and Harrison and Nerris going at it, again. When David burst into the room to announce that it was such a beautiful day outside and that they really should be eating outside to enjoy it, Max had groaned out loud, along with most of the campers, but had stood up anyway - of all the annoying things David asked for, this was relatively harmless. 

Breakfast passed by relatively quickly, as everyone shoveled the, for lack of a better word, slop into their mouths and rushed off in different directions to spend some precious time away from each other before David could wrangle them back together for a ‘fun camp activity’, leaving their trays and utensils for David and Gwen to clean up - this was his idea, after all. 

Neil already had something in mind for them to do, and Max actually approved, and so while they were in the process of hiding Space Kid’s spare helmet, they passed David, whose arms were full of trash that he was lugging back to the mess hall. They paused to let him pass by, hoping he didn’t notice them, and so Max had a front-row seat to David dropping a paper tray, scowling a very un-David-like scowl at it, and then just kicking it to the side, leaving it on the ground.

Max had twisted around, almost frantic, hoping he hadn’t been the only one to see that, and thankfully, he hadn’t been - Nikki and Neil stared at the paper plate, eyes following it as the light breeze pushed it across the ground until it bumped the bush they were hiding behind. They both looked as shocked as Max felt.

That leads to where Max is now, still wondering what he must have seen in the woods that have caused this much of a change in him. Neil is the first one to speak, with a predictable potty mouth that Max will never admit he admires him for. “What the fuck?” 

Nikki reaches down to pick up the plate, looking at it as if it might tell her why David let it there, on the floor. “I didn’t know David could litter.”

“That’s because he doesn’t,” Max says, eyes narrowed. He’s squeezing the helmet hard enough that he’s afraid it might shatter, but can’t really bring himself to care.

“Maybe it was just this once?” Neil offers, squinting in that way he does when he doesn’t even believe himself. Max gives him his standard _even-you-don’t-believe-that_ look and Neil instantly caves. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“What do you think, Nikki-?” Max turns to where she was standing only to notice a distinct lack of Nikki. “Nikki?!” 

“Hey, David!” Max hears from ahead of them, and suddenly Max feels an irrational fear seize his heart for a quick second as both him and Neil rush to catch up with her. It’s stupid, because this is David, and David can’t even kill an ant without crying, and he could never hurt Nikki. (He doesn’t know when he started caring for Nikki so much, either.) 

The look on David’s face doesn’t do much in the ways of reassuring him, though. The look in his eyes is one that Max has never seen before, as if Nikki is a particularly interesting insect. He’s smiling at her, too, the same smile that doesn’t look at all like David’s. “Yes, Nikki?”

“You dropped this. You never litter, so I thought it must have been an accident, even though you looked at it.” She offers him the plate. Max wonders if David will get mad, but he’s not sure why. He doesn’t think David has the ability to get mad.

David laughs. “That’s right, I must have missed it! Thanks for giving it to me!” He allows Nikki to lay it on top of the garbage pile, then turns away, tossing a, “Don’t cause too much trouble!” over his shoulder.

Max can see he’s still smiling as he turns away. It unnerves him.

\---

It comes to a head all at once and very suddenly when Max wakes up to a _shing_ of a knife being pulled out of a holder and David standing above his bed, the knife poised to stab down into him.

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT!” Max is saying before he can even comprehend what’s going on above him. He rolls out of bed before David can bring the knife down into his chest, bolting out of his tent. He doesn’t know where he’s going, but before he knows it, he’s in Neil’s tent, watching Neil sleepily blink the sleep out of his eyes. 

“M-Max?” Did Max shake him awake, or was it his scream that woke him? Is the entire camp awake now? It doesn’t really matter but- _oh shit it does matter_normal-

Wait, he had said that all aloud? 

“Yes, you did, Max, now seriously, what’s going on, you’re starting to creep the shit out of me.” Neil looks worried. Max wonders how he looks - probably insane, with a bedhead and wild eyes.

“I woke up and David was standing over me, with a knife, he was going to stab me, but I don’t think it was David!” he says in one breath, too panicked to feel embarrassed about how much fear he’s showing. Maybe later they’ll laugh about it, but right now, faced with the fear of death and of David being not-David and oh god-

“Are you sure it wasn’t just a nightmare?” Neil says, but he’s wearing that _I’m-not-sure-of-myself_ face again, shooting nervous looks at the flap of the tent as if David will appear there, knife in hand, and stab the both of them. Max isn’t above doing the same - has been doing the same, ever since he had realized where he was. 

Max seizes the front of Neil’s shirt and yanks him forward so they’re eye to eye. “Yes! Yes, I’m sure! David is a fucking psychopath! But it’s not David!” 

“Is it David, or isn’t it?! What the fuck?” Max’s panic seems to be infecting Neil, because his voice gets higher and more panicky and panicking won’t do anything but maybe direct David/Not-David’s attentions to them. Obviously Neil doesn’t know anything to do, and Max doesn’t think he can think of anything other than _what the hell_ on a constant stream in him mind, so he goes with what feels right.

“Where’s Nikki?” He’s not sure when running to either Nikki or Neil became his default, and later he’ll probably cure himself for getting attached the same way he’s been cursing himself for getting attached to David, but right now he’s a 10 year old boy that needs comfort in the form of his friends.

Neil doesn’t say anything but follows Max as he bolts out of the room and heads to Nikki’s tent, head wildly swishing this way and that as he keeps and eye out for David and his knife - somehow not knowing where he is is more terrifying than knowing.

Nikki’s mouth is definitely cleaner when they wake her up, and she’s definitely not as normal. She does say the same thing Neil did: “Are you sure it wasn’t just a nightmare?” 

Max nods - he’s very, very sure. No nightmare is that vivid. 

“Well then, we should confront David!” she says, jumping off her bed and landing in a superhero pose, hand up as if holding a sword. Max stares at her, while Neil whispers, “What?! Are you insane? We’re not going to confront a killer! We need to tell Gwen!” 

“Tell Gwen what?” comes an all-too-familiar voice from the door. All three of them scream. Max hates himself for cowering back, but then it is a pretty normal reaction upon seeing the man the tried to kill you. 

David doesn’t look the same way now than he did then, though. _Then_ he was only visible by the light of the moon, sending an eery glow over his face and making the knife he was holding look shinier than it was. _Then_ he had had pale circles under his eyes, making his face, already halfway cloaked in darkness, look gaunter. _Then_ he had a terrifyingly pleased smile on his face, as if seeing Max’s blood splatter on the sheets and dribble down to the ground would be the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. 

Now, he just looks like regular old David, face illuminated by the lantern Neil and Max had run in with, looking vaguely confused and very concerned. 

Nikki is the first to act, of course, jumping forward with her usual bravado and confidence and saying, “Stay back, fiend! We won’t let you kill Max! You’ll have to go through me, first!” She bares her teeth and growls a little.

David just looks even more confused. “What are you talking about? I would never kill Max!” 

Neil finds his strength, somehow before Max does, which has never happened before. Max didn’t think it ever would, but when it came to this new David all bets were off. “Then why did he wake up with you holding a knife above his head?” 

David tilts his head, looking innocent. It’s all an act, Max knows it, because he knows he isn’t crazy, refuses to be crazy. “I would never do that! Are you sure it wasn’t just a nightmare, Max?”

Nikki and Neil look very unsure about Max’s conclusion, and seeing all three doubting faces, makes him doubt himself, but he has to stay strong, he _knows what he saw-_

“No! It wasn’t a nightmare! Drop the act!” He’s screaming. They look more concerned than confused now.

“Okay,” David speaks softly and slowly, approaching him like Max is a scared wild animal. “How about I walk you back to your tent? Neil, you can go back too . . . thanks for watching Max, but you kids need your sleep!”

“No! Don’t leave me alone with him!” Max says, tone verging on pleading. He hates this weakness, being so damn dependent on his friends, but they’ve never let him down before and he really really needs them to not leave him alone with David right now.

Not this time, it seems. Neil looks at him, unsure. “It was probably a nightmare, Max . . . David would never hurt anything . . . he’s kinda a wuss . . .”

David pouts a little but, he does nod along. “Yes, I would never hurt you Max.” Was it just him or did his eyes smile at Max as he said that? There was no way, but then again, he had just tried to kill Max.

But he’s fighting a losing battle, he knows that, and so he swallows back a sob - _when did he become so weak?_ \- and nods weakly. David smiles brilliantly at him, and Neil and Nikki do the same, although noticeably less brightly. David leads him out of the tent, and Max can only see Neil heading back to his tent for a couple of seconds before he is no longer illuminated by the moon and disappears.

David slings a friendly arm over his shoulder. Max’s hackles immediately rise. He tries to throw the hand off, but David’s clinging on. “So, Max . . .” He pulls something shiny out of his pocket, and Max is overtaken by panic again - he wasn’t crazy, but he’d almost prefer being crazy than to face the reality of David aiming a knife at him (or Not-David, he wasn’t sure at this point, wasn’t sure of anything except the fact that he was trying to get away _but David wasn’t letting him._) 

The knife paints a clear, silver picture as it streaks towards his throat, and Max knows this is where he dies, _this is it-_

It stops just clear of his neck. Max doesn’t exhale, for fear the movement of his throat will impale it on the knife. 

“I think,” Not David (because it had to be Not David, Read David would never do this, but it was so hard to think with this damn fog of fear descending over his thoughts) practically crooned, “that you should stop spreading rumours, Max.” 

Max tells himself not to speak. He pulls his throat back just the teensiest bit and does anyway. “They’re not rumours if they’re true.”

Not David laughs, and it’s the same laugh that’s been sending chills down Max’s spine ever since he returned. He wants David’s old laugh, his old smile back. “They’re not true, not to everyone else . . . even Nikki and Neil didn’t believe you. And you would do good to remember that, if you don’t want me to _slaughter_ everyone in this camp while I can.”

“Not like you weren’t going to do that anyway.”

“Of course not! My goal is to introduce you to Xemug in a way that will make sense to you!” Where has he heard Xemug before? It was-

Oh, fuck.

It’s Daniel. Max feels like an idiot for not realizing this sooner - who else could it have been, but David’d twin? His crazed, murder happy, cultist. It’s been Daniel all this time - and now everyone things that Daniel is David when he’s not actually David, and no one noticed a damn thing. 

Daniel walks while he talks, and Max is forced along with him, keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the knife to make sure he won’t touch the blade while he walks on accident. “My mistake, the first time, was forcing you into it too fast. But if I make you believe . . .” He sighs. “It will be long and tedious, yes. But a faithful follower of Xemug is worth much more than a brainwashed one!” 

They are at Max’s tent now. Daniel has told him his plans, so Max wonders what that means for him. Will Nikki and Neil find his body in the morning? 

Apparently not. Daniel bends down, speaks directly into Max’s ear. “So, keep it quiet, okay? I’ll know if you tell, and no one will believe you anyway. Pity if someone would have to lose their life for no reason.” 

He shoves Max inside the tent. Max feels more alone and more scared than he has for a long time.

\---

They have a bit going on it, Daniel and Max. Max skitters around Daniel for the first couple days. Nikki and Neil look at him oddly each time he can never quite meet Daniel’s eyes. Max can’t bring himself to care, walking from place to place in a daze. Even his usual mischief can’t pick his mood up because David isn’t really David and is actually Daniel and he could die with one slip of the tongue or someone else could die with one slip of the tongue and the entire camp is going to join Daniel’s freaky-ass cult and- and-

He’s very stressed, What is he, a ten-year-old kid, supposed to do about a psychotic cultist? He pushes himself to return back to normal, though, and eventually he’s back to snarking and snapping at Daniel, although admittedly his jabs have more bite to them now that he knows that it isn’t David he’s insulting. The joy from it mostly dissipates when Daniel flashes him a brief glimpse of the knife in the Mess Hall. No one notices. Max doesn’t stop snarking and snapping.

\---

In the end, Max doesn’t do anything to stop Daniel. He would like to say that he’s the hero of this tail, somehow managing to pull through for the camp and reveal Daniel as not David. But it’s not him that reveals Daniel in the end, it’s Space Kid.

It was absolutely burning outside, and Gwen had decided it was a perfect day to take a swim. Daniel/what everyone else knew as David had tried begging off, but Gwen had dragged him out anyway, saying that she “couldn’t possibly be expected to handle these fucking demons by myself.” So Daniel joined them, but he kept away from the water. Gwen didn’t pester him about getting into the water, likely thinking he didn’t want to get close to it because of his canoe debacle. 

Space Kid had no qualms about getting Daniel wet, though. He came a little later, after switching out his helmet (he had found the spare, unfortunately, although Max supposed that was the least of his worries), he had taken Daniel by surprise, latching onto his back and using his momentum from the jump to plunge them both into the water. It’s not this that makes everyone freeze, it’s the yelled curse that Daniel cries just before he hits the water.

David never curses.

Of course, Max knows that this is not Daniel. But no one else does, which is why everyone is currently staring at the spot Space Kid and Daniel had gone under, waiting for them to resurface.

When they do, it’s to be treated to a shock of blonde hair instead of David’s usual white. 

It’s Neil that figures it out first. “Da- Daniel?” A wide grin splits Daniel’s face, and he lets a burst of laughter escape his mouth. Max feels the fear jump into his stomach again, even now, surrounded by people.

Everyone recognizes him at Neil’s question, and suddenly there is chaos. Daniel doesn’t even attempt resisting, as first Gwen jumps at him before he can do anything, followed by Dolph and Nikki, who latch onto his arms. Gwen has put him in a headlock. Max is still frozen, wondering when he became so pathetic. Ered is on the phone with her dads already, while Harrison and Nerris grab each of Daniel’s leg. Nurf almost immediately spots the knife in his pocket and pulls it out, grinning at in a way that makes Max wonder if he would rather give it back to Daniel.

Ered’s dads travel to them with superhuman speed, and at that point they are on land, Daniel tied up with rope that Neil found in the Mess Hall and knife confiscated from Nurf (much to the relief of Preston.) Max wants to go up and punch him in the face, but finds that he can’t do it, even as Daniel is held down and is almost completely helpless. Damn him.

Nikki and Neil walk up to him, providing a welcome distraction. “Hey, Max . . .” Neil begins. Max thinks that this is the perfect opportunity to build his confidence and reputation back up.

“I know, you want to apologize for not believing me. That’s cool, just remember I’m always right next time.”

Neil looks sheepish, Nikki looks indignant. “I mean, you said that David tried to kill you . . . sorry for not believing that _at all._”

“I mean, he wasn’t David in the end, was he?” Neil says, All of their eyes stray to where Daniel is being loaded into a van. His smile is still on his face, staring directly at Max as he says,

“Don’t worry Max, I’ll be back!”

“No,” one of the FBI agents say.

“You won’t,” the other finishes. Then the close the door and pack into the van, driving off to hopefully lock him up in a high security prison where Daniel will never see the light of day again. Good riddance.

Even as he thinks that, he swears he can still feel Daniel’s eyes on him. Daniel’s smile is burned into the back of his mind.

\---

Max is ashamed it takes him so long to remember the real issue. They are in the Mess Hall, recovering from another near-death/near-cult-initiation experience. Max is so, so relieved that after three months, he is finally rid of Daniel and his creepy smile and his shiny knife, so glad to get back to normal.

Then he remembers they can’t have normal without David. And if the David that came back was really Daniel, then where is David?

“Hey, losers!” Max yells, startling Nikki and Neil next to him and gaining the attention of all the cheerful campers around him and Gwen. “Where the fuck is David?”

**Author's Note:**

> and then david freaks everyone the fuck out by magically appearing on his bed, covered in Forest Shit, the end.
> 
> 7/14/20: hello everyone :D i'm transferring some of these works from one account to another, so tinyspoons and caffeine101 are both me, to clear up any confusion as to who is answering comments as the author lmao.


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